Thursday, February 3, 2011

Those Bachelor Brothers Made me Cook

Hector and Virgil are two eccentric, middle aged twins who run The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast on an island off British Columbia for their "clientele of slightly confused and gentle bookish people". They live with Mrs. Rochester, a parrot who is as likely to spout a Bible passage as a curse, Waffle the cat, Caedmon the absent-minded handyman, a bassoon, and frequent overnight visits from Hector's beauty products saleswoman and journalist girlfriend Altona.

Would that there were such a wonderful B&B, but alas, this bibliophilic retreat is a fictional one, from the pen of author Bill Richardson. His first book, "The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast" is a charming treat, and so is the sequel, "The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast Pillow Book", a continuation of the adventures of Hector, Virgil and their circle of friends, punctuated by recipes, recommended book lists, many verses of bad poetry and letters from guests who have stayed at their B&B.

It is one such letter in the book that intrigued me and set me on the path of some culinary research. One satisfied customer sends on his mother's recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles and relates how he spent time visiting his parents and copying out childhood favorites from his mother's recipe cards and cookbooks.

They all had such interesting names: Bully Pudding (a cake with chopped dates and nuts baked in), Cheese Dreams (open-faced melted cheese sandwiches, Self-Saucing Fudge Cake (sounds like a Hogwarts dish) and Double Snackers. I never did find out what Double Snackers are, but I kept imagining that they'd be some sort of delicious thing paired with yet another bit of deliciousness and melded together.

I decided that I would create my own Double Snackers and got to thinking about making a savory kind of sandwich cookie. It should be salty, crispy, but also gooey. And cheesy, since the author had gotten me salivating about what Cheese Dreams might be. I decided to make a double batch of my Southern Cheese Crisps and then make a small bit of Herbed Cream Cheese to cement two Crisps together into one delicious Double Snacker.

They are mighty tasty. A bit rich, but that's what double snacking is about. Two of these babies were perfect as an appetizer, washed down with a glass of dry, red Chianti. Yum yum.

This book-inspired cooking post is going to wend its way over to Simona at Briciole who is hosting another one of her delightful Novel Food blog event. Novel Food is cohosted with Lisa of A Champaign Taste and celebrates the love of reading with the love of cooking and there are always intriguing new book selections to seek out when reading each of the Novel Food roundups. If you are interested in joining Novel Food, the deadline is Feb. 13.

Copyright Notice

This blog is an original work of creative expression by Rachel Jagareski. All photos, text, and original recipes herein are copyrighted by the author/artist Rachel Jagareski (c) 2007-2015. All rights are reserved by the author. Please contact me for permission to republish or broadcast any material beyond your own personal use. Thank you.